scholarly journals Harmonic language as a generator of mediation between contrasting meanings in the post-tonal context

New Sound ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 111-130
Author(s):  
Atila Sabo

This paper examines the influence of harmonic language on the narrative processes in post-tonal music. The main assumption is that the phenomenon of mediation, expounded on by David Lidov on the examples of music of Classicism and Romanticism, is quite similarly manifested when the major-minor system is suspended. Mediation, according to Lidov, implies cancelling opposition or blurring opposed semantic categories, which can be achieved by various music means. In music that emerged after the suspension of tonality, especially in authors who have not opted exclusively for either of the two opposed ways of harmonic thinking, the tonal or the atonal, harmonic language remains a significant factor in generating narratives. They play a key role in forming transitional categories between contrasting meanings within a binary opposition, that is to say, in emphasising the process of mediation. Departing from these views, the paper analyses the role of specific manifestations of the tonal vertical in forming meaning in the second movement of Music for String Instruments, Percussion and Celesta by Béla Bartók (1881-1945).

Author(s):  
Li Yan Long

Turning of Ma Siсong to the concerto genre was not determined exclusively by the historical cultural circumstances, because in the first half of the 20th century the Chinese violin music only started to master the European genres. Thus, the violin and orchestra concerto written in 1943-1944 became the first Chinese work in this genre.Ma Siсong created an exceptionally interesting and remarkable canvas that combined seamlessly the Chinese national thematic nature and principles of the European violin concerto, classical genre paradigmatics aligned with the new mental conditions of creation. Using the wealth of the style parameters and the genre varieties of the wide temporal perspective, the composer represents an authentic vision of the solo violin concerto proper as an expression of the distinctive Chinese culture which has been shown essentially on the intonational-melodic, tonal-harmonic levels, manifested in the sphere of the form creation. The concerto concept solved in the neoromantic key gravitates toward the type of the lyrical-patriotic poem about the beauty of the homeland. Thus, the most innovative for the concerto genre became the means of the form creation that originate from the nature of the Chinese music (alternation of the concentrated brief tunes that to some extent play the role of the leitmotifs with more spatial melodic sections), that render the dramaturgic model a suite-poem type; using compositional and performing principles of the Chinese folk orchestras and solo performance on the bowed string instruments (enhance improvisational opening, specific performing techniques – typical flageolets, sliding play with one finger, traditional bourdon two-part texture, typical for the folk violin erhu, etc.). Especially innovatory is the harmonic language of the concerto (whose characteristic feature is the refined play between anhemitonics, pentatonics and chromatics) that gives not only a specific flair, but produces also an essential effect on the general tonal plan of the whole demonstrating the new modal-tonal relationships. Ma Siсong, preserving in the ternary construction of the concerto for violin and orchestra the features and certain typological European principles of this genre fills it up not only with the new content, but tries to give a new meaning to the basic form creating principles from the standpoint of the Chinese music mentality.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Prince ◽  
Dominique T Vuvan ◽  
Mark A. Schmuckler ◽  
Thomas T. Scott-Clark

Research on tonal priming has consistently shown that tonally expected events are processed more efficiently and has confirmed that the locus of the effect is cognitive rather than sensory. However, it is also important to investigate the role of pitch height, because models of tonal priming collapse across octaves, yet it is possible that pitch height may modulate the effectiveness of tonal priming. We systematically tested this issue by varying the pitch heights of a related (tonic) or a less-related (subdominant) target chord following a tonal context. Musically untrained participants (N = 30) made speeded consonant/dissonant judgments of the final chord of an eight-chord sequence. The effects of tonal priming emerged in accuracy and reaction time measures for all octaves, except for a ceiling effect on accuracy in the matching (original pitch height) condition. In a second experiment, we increased the shift to two octaves and compressed the chords to eliminate overlap between the target and context chords; again, tonal priming emerged. These findings have implications for the behavioral study of tonal priming and support the assumption of octave equivalence in computational models.


Author(s):  
Lisanne van Weelden ◽  
Joost Schilperoord ◽  
Marc Swerts ◽  
Diane Pecher

Visual information contributes fundamentally to the process of object categorization. The present study investigated whether the degree of activation of visual information in this process is dependent on the contextual relevance of this information. We used the Proactive Interference (PI-release) paradigm. In four experiments, we manipulated the information by which objects could be categorized and subsequently be retrieved from memory. The pattern of PI-release showed that if objects could be stored and retrieved both by (non-perceptual) semantic and (perceptual) shape information, then shape information was overruled by semantic information. If, however, semantic information could not be (satisfactorily) used to store and retrieve objects, then objects were stored in memory in terms of their shape. The latter effect was found to be strongest for objects from identical semantic categories.


Author(s):  
Rafał Rozmus

<p>Repertuar muzyki bożonarodzeniowej z lat 1945-2005 ugruntowanej na rodzimej tradycji kolędowej przedstawia się jako dość obszerna część twórczości polskich kompozytorów. Jest to zjawisko zróżnicowane, obejmujące różne sposoby traktowania materiału kolędowego, rozmaite rozwiązania z zakresu formy, techniki kompozytorskiej, wielorakie rodzaje składów wykonawczych i różnorodne odcienie ekspresji dźwiękowej. Znajdujemy tu m.in.: częste nawiązania do polskiej muzyki ludowej, stylizacje historyzujące, język romantyczny i neoromantyczny, archaizacje, emanacje nowego języka dźwiękowego (sonorystyka, punktualizm, aleatoryzm, nowoczesna harmonika, technika repetytywna, klastery). W grupie opracowań kolęd (część I: <em>Opracowania kolęd</em>) kompozytorzy najczęściej wykorzystują powszechnie znane kolędy i pastorałki. W wypadku opracowań na chór <em>a cappella</em> i opracowań wokalno-instrumentalnych inspiracja płynie zarówno z tekstu słownego, jak i z melodii opracowanej kolędy (np. przez eksponowanie jej motywów w strukturze głosów kontrapunktujących). Wśród stosowanych technik kompozytorskich dominują środki konwencjonalne, nawiązujące stylistycznie do muzyki epoki romantyzmu lub wcześniejszych epok. Sporadycznie tylko tradycyjnej melodii kolędowej towarzyszą współczesny język harmoniczny i nowe środki wyrazu. W opracowaniach pastorałek często dochodzi do głosu stylizacja polskiego folkloru muzycznego – w melodyce (np. użycie skal charakterystycznych dla muzyki niektórych regionów Polski), rytmice (wykorzystywanie rytmów tanecznych), harmonice i fakturze (puste kwinty, dźwięki burdonowe). Szczególnie często twórcy nawiązują do muzyki Podhala. Instrumentalne opracowania mają natomiast z reguły charakter użytkowy – służą do gry w kościele, celom dydaktycznym, muzykowaniu domowemu. Grupa kompozycji (część II: <em>Kompozycje</em>), które odwołują się do rodzimej tradycji kolędowo-pastorałkowej, dystansując się jednocześnie od praktyki opracowań, aranżacji itp., jest dużo bardziej zróżnicowana, zarówno pod względem tekstowym, jak i muzycznym. W utworach wokalnych i wokalno-instrumentalnych uderza rozległość warstwy literackiej, obejmującej teksty z dawnych epok, XIX w., poezję współczesną, twórczość ludową, teksty łacińskie. W ślad za tym idzie daleko posunięta różnorodność środków i technik kompozytorskich, konwencji stylistycznych i typów ekspresji. Z jednej strony pojawiają się archaizacje – nawiązania do organum, chorału gregoriańskiego, rytmiki i harmoniki modalnej, dawnych form, z drugiej – ludowe stylizacje, neobarok, kompozycje romantyzujące, dzieła oparte na współczesnym języku dźwiękowym. Równie wielką rozmaitość zauważamy w sposobach traktowania tradycyjnego materiału kolędowego, począwszy od nasycenia nim struktury motywicznej kompozycji (materiał tematyczny, imitacje, snucie motywiczne), po okazjonalne cytaty, a nawet takie sytuacje, gdzie nowo skomponowana muzyka unika cytatu, a mimo to – w różny sposób – przywołuje kolędowo-pastorałkowy nastrój. Podobnie rzecz ma się z kompozycjami instrumentalnymi. Są pośród nich takie, w których melodia kolędy staje się czynnikiem konstrukcyjnym, na drugim zaś biegunie sytuują się utwory, w którym cytat z kolędy pojawia się okazjonalnie, pełniąc rolę symbolu.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Christmas Carol as a Source of Inspiration in the Works of Polish Composers in 1945-2005</strong></p>SUMMARY<p>The repertoire of Christmas music from 1945-2005, consolidated on the native Christmas carol tradition, can be perceived as a vast part of the works of Polish composers. It is a diverse phenomenon, comprising various ways of treatment of the Christmas carol material, various solutions in the form, composer’s technique, various kinds of the artist forces, and various shadows of sound expression. We may fi nd here inter alia: frequent references to Polish folk music, historicizing stylizations, Romantic and neo-Romantic language, archaizations, emanations of a new sound language (sonorism, punctualism, aleatorism, modern harmonica, repetitive technique, clusters). In the group of adaptations of carols (Part I – Adaptation of Carols) the composers frequently make use of commonly known carols and pastorals. In the case of adaptations for a choir a cappella and vocal-instrumental adaptations, the inspiration stems from both the verbal text and melody of the adapted carol e.g. by emphasizing its motifs in the structure of counterpoint voices). Among applied composer’s techniques, conventional means dominate which stylistically refer to the music of Romantic or previous epochs. Only sporadically the traditional carol melody is accompanied by modern harmonic language and new means of expression. In the adaptation of pastorals the stylization of Polish musical folklore is very often heard – in the melody pattern (e.g. the use of scales characteristic of the music of some regions in Poland), in rhythmicity (the use of dancing rhythms), in harmony and texture (empty fi fths, bourdon sounds). The composers particularly frequently refer to the music of the Podhale region. Instrumental adaptations are usually of practical character – they serve to be played in church, for didactic purposes, to play music at home. The group of compositions (Part II – Compositions) which refers to the native carol-pastoral tradition, while at same time distancing itself from the practice of arrangements etc., is far more diverse both as far as the text and melody is concerned. In vocal and vocal-instrumental works the vastness of the literary layer is striking; it comprises the texts from old epochs, 19th century, modern poetry, folk works, and Latin texts. This is followed by a variety of means and composer’s techniques, stylistic conventions, and types of expression. On the one hand, there are archaizations – references to the organum, Gregorian chorale, rhythmicity and modal harmony of old forms, on the other hand – folk stylizations, neo-Baroque, romanticizing compositions, work based on modern sound language. We may also perceive a great variety in the way of treating traditional carol, material from fi lling with it the motif structure of the composition (thematic material, imitation, motif repetitions) to occasional citations, and even to such situations where newly composed music avoids a citation, nevertheless it refers to the carol-pastoral mood). The same applies to the instrumental compositions. There are compositions in which the melody of a carol is a constructive factor; at the opposite end there are musical pieces in which the citation from a carol appears occasionally, playing the role of a symbol.</p>


Author(s):  
Polina Gerchanivska

The purpose of the article is to analyze the nature of the heterogeneity of Islam in the field of Muslim culture and to determine the moderators of the variability of its forms. Methodology. The culturology analysis of Islam in the interdisciplinary space of the social sciences and humanities is the conceptual methodological core of the research. For a comprehensive study of the phenomenon, a civilizational approach was used, which made it possible to realize the uniqueness of the Muslim world as a local civilization and the functional role of the Islamic religion in it. The research strategy is based on system analysis in the author’s interpretation. The phenomenon of Islam is interpreted as an integral system in the totality of relations and connections between the invariant and variable components. Scientific novelty. To study the problem of the diversity of forms of Islam, the author's model of the system method, based on the dichotomy of the invariant and variable components of the phenomenon, was introduced into scientific circulation. The idea of the variability of Islam in the space of Muslim civilization has been verified. The invariant and variable components of Islam and the moderators of their formation are determined. Conclusions. Based on the paradigm of the invariance of the dogma of Islam and the diversity of its interpretation in the chronotope, the core moderators of the variability of the forms of Islam are established: 1) the absence in the Quran and Sunnah of direct prohibitions in relation to certain aspects of worldly life; the absence of a unified religious center that monitors the monotony of interpretation of canonical texts;2) the weakening of the connection between the sacred and the profane, which determined the politicization of Islam (in the form of Islamism of all shades); 3) symbiosis of religion and ethnic culture, which led to the dichotomy “classical-folk” Islam; 4) the correlation of the configuration of Islam with the socio-political structure of society, which, in particular, determined the binary opposition of two doctrines of building a Muslim community: the firs doctrine is based on the idea of the revival of the Caliphate, the second doctrine is based on Sharia rule within national borders,


2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherill A. Gilbas

 The legal implication of infidelity in Philippine law serves as an initial display of “machismo” that reflects the propensity and pervasiveness of its concept in Philippine society. As a response to society’s partiality to male’s gender role, the gender role of women called “maternalism” has surfaced. This gender role identifies itself as a manifestation of society’s concept of gender roles including double-standard machismo. This paper aims to disclose how desire  is depicted as justification to the existence of machismo and maternalism in selected Philippine short stories like “Magnificence,” “Of Fish, Flies, Dogs and Women,” “The Chieftest Mourner,” “Thirsty is the Arid Land,” and “Wedding Dance.” This paper also supports the concept of desire with pleasure principle and tripartite model of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis.  The paper’s critical point focuses on how infidelity is reflected in said stories, thereby leading to understanding its concept as manifested by characters’ gender roles. This paper also employs the descriptive literary analysis anchored on Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics. In addition, the paper also discusses the binary opposition of marriage and infidelity, faithfulness and unfaithfulness, along with its implication to the couple and the society in general. The paper identifies culture as an inherent factor in addressing the questions of gender roles in Philippine fiction.Keywords – Literature, machismo, maternalism, hermeneutics, psychoanalysis, literary analysis, gender roles, descriptive design, Philippines


Author(s):  
Emilia Parada-Cabaleiro ◽  
Anton Batliner ◽  
Markus Schedl

Musical listening is broadly used as an inexpensive and safe method to reduce self-perceived anxiety. This strategy is based on the emotivist assumption claiming that emotions are not only recognised in music but induced by it. Yet, the acoustic properties of musical work capable of reducing anxiety are still under-researched. To fill this gap, we explore whether the acoustic parameters relevant in music emotion recognition are also suitable to identify music with relaxing properties. As an anxiety indicator, the positive statements from the six-item Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a self-reported score from 3 to 12, are taken. A user-study with 50 participants assessing the relaxing potential of four musical pieces was conducted; subsequently, the acoustic parameters were evaluated. Our study shows that when using classical Western music to reduce self-perceived anxiety, tonal music should be considered. In addition, it also indicates that harmonicity is a suitable indicator of relaxing music, while the role of scoring and dynamics in reducing non-pathological listener distress should be further investigated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (26) ◽  
pp. 172-179
Author(s):  
Varvara A. Tirakhova ◽  

This article is devoted to the study of the binary opposition «power/people» in Soviet historical and biographical films. The research material is S. Eisenstein’s iconic films Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (1944). Having analyzed the development and transformation of the binary opposition «power/people» in Eisenstein's historical and biographical films in terms of plot, character system and composition, the author came to the following conclusions: characters of formal authority are often negatively marked. The image of the people is represented by an indivisible monolith. The binary opposition «power/people» is removed by the introduction of a mediator, the character which becomes a key one in films. In the film Alexander Nevsky, the image of the cultural hero, the title character, removes the conflict between the opposing sides: the image of the prince is opposed to the image of the official power and absorbs the features of the people's ruler. The image of the people, when interacting with the image of a cultural hero, becomes an ambivalent carrier of both power and heroic traits. In the film Ivan the Terrible, the development of the medial image of the tsar leads to the fact that he himself becomes the embodiment of absolute power, occupying the «powerful» side of the opposition. Thus, the binary opposition is replaced by the ambivalence of the ruler. The author concludes that the development of the opposition «power/people» in the historical and biographical cinema of the Stalinist time is representative of its period and demonstrates strengthening of the imperial discourse of Soviet ideology and the role of the ruler's personality.


Classics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Lianeri

Translation has been central to engagement with the Greek and Roman worlds and their cultures ever since antiquity. The classic, as a concept that defines inseparably the canonical status of these cultures and the modes of reading them, has been mediated by the enterprise of translation. Roman literature and philosophy were not only shaped by translating Greek works, but constructed Greek culture as a classic through the medium of translation. Because of the importance of translations for the understanding and dissemination of Greek and Latin, interest in this field has preoccupied classical scholarship. Yet paradoxically, translation remained until recently under-theorized, restricted to an educational tool for those having no access to the originals. The development of classical reception studies in the 1990s marked a shift in the discipline by bringing translation into the heart of debates about the afterlife of classical antiquity. This new approach was grounded in discussions of translation advanced in the recently formed field of translation studies, but also in a long tradition of philosophical approaches, ranging from hermeneutics to poststructuralism, to a metaphorical concept of translation. Classical scholarship offered a distinct contribution to the above discussions by deploying, but also qualifying, concepts of translation elaborated in the above fields, such as the dismantling of the simple binary opposition between translation and source text, the sociopolitical role of translations, translators’ agency, and the ethics and politics of translation practice. So an increasing number of works illuminate and theorize the seminal role of translations in shaping both the “classical” image of antiquity and its repercussions in the different contexts of its reception. A key contribution of this debate to the wider discussion of translation has been an emphasis on the mutually constitutive relationship between translation and source text, which entails that each of them actively shapes the meaning and cultural identity of the other. This bibliography does not exhaust the multifarious history of modes and practices of translating Greek and Latin texts across time. Nor does it reflect on problems pertaining to the practice of translating. However, it includes tools for the study of translation practice in history (bibliographies, reference works, databases), which feature more extensive bibliographical information. The bibliography’s key focus is on concepts and frameworks deployed for debating translations as historically-specific works that interpret the classics in terms that are multiply intertwined with the ethical, aesthetic, social, and political debates of their time.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Fengqi Qian

<p class="1Body">Tradition and modernisation are often seen as a binary opposition. In an urban environment, traditional built form seems incompatible to modern way of life, and the adaptation of traditional neighbourhoods to modern use often causes controversy. Nowadays, ideas about ‘what is tradition’ become shifting, and traditional townscape does not necessarily mean an obstacle to modernisation. This paper reveals how the role of traditional elements is played in China’s urban development. The case study of Xintiandi, Shanghai, where traditional townscape is restored, highlights the connection of the city’s past and present. Xintiandi is a successful yet controversial city renewal project, where Shanghai’s traditional housing form <em>Shikumen</em> is restored and put into adaptive uses. In the course of urban modernisation, the role of tradition as a representation of the connection between the city’s past and present deserves more study. This paper aims to add a perspective to the literature on the study of tradition. It argues for the diversity and fluidity of the ideas about tradition. In this view, tradition is not necessarily in dichotomy with, or opposite to modernisation; rather, tradition justifies the needs of modernisation and supplements its outcomes. The paper is developed in light of works on tradition by Shils, Hobsbawm, Giddens and others; The case study of Xintiandi shows what Old Shanghai tradition means to this city today, and how traditional elements are adapted and used in the course of urban modernisation.</p>


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